Ruel teases sophomore EP with "Real Thing"

Just before he embarks on a near-sold out North American tour, Australian pop artist Ruel returns with the soulful "Real Thing."

Taking inspiration from Amy Winehouse and Stevie Wonder, it's no wonder that the teenager has a voice and mind beyond his years. Weaving R&B and pop together seamlessly, Ruel sings "I just want you here, I just want you in reality." The track will be on his sophmore EP Free Time, out September 13th. "Real Thing" begins with timid guitar, but by the time the second chorus rolls around, bass thumps heavily and "Real Thing" mounts into an impressive urgency.

It would be too easy to assume that teenagers don't have a handle on the swirling of emotion they undergo, but it's Ruel's deft lyricism and intoxicating genre-fusion that set him on a higher plane than some of his young industry peers. He manages to write about experiences—whether they are lived or not—without appearing performative.